Ain't no stopping us now

Back to Choir: A New Term, A New MD, and New Music! 🎶

After a long summer break, it was wonderful to gather again at the start of term. This season brought us fresh energy with our new MD, Martha Littlehayes, and, of course, a whole batch of new music to explore.

We were a little short on the deeper voices this week, but that didn’t stop us from making a joyful sound. Even better, we welcomed two new members, June and Catherine – a lovely addition to our choir family.

A Playful Warm-Up

Martha kept us on our toes with something different. This time, we tried a round that had us laughing:“If you ever need to give someone a slap, just hit them and say, ‘Mosquito!’”

It certainly broke the ice and got us ready for singing together again.

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now

We kicked off with the 1979 disco anthem by McFadden & Whitehead – a song often seen as a celebration of resilience and joy in the African American community.

When singing “we’re on the move”, Martha reminded us to make it sound casual, almost throwaway. The chorus shifts the words the second time, and we built a powerful crescendo through “Ain’t no stopping us now!”

Walking in the Air

Next came the magical theme from The Snowman by Howard Blake.

The story follows the fleeting adventures of a young boy and a snowman who magically comes to life. Together, they soar through the night sky to the North Pole, with Walking in the Air as the theme for their journey. There, they join a party of snowmen – the boy seemingly the only human guest – before meeting Santa Claus himself. As a parting gift, Santa gives the boy a scarf decorated with snowmen, a magical reminder of his extraordinary adventure.

In our version, basses and tenors sing together, giving the piece a rich, deep sound. We worked on making “air” sound more like “are” for a darker, more mysterious tone. And when echoing “like dreams”, we kept it soft – a shadow behind the main line rather than competing with it.

Diamonds Are Forever

Then it was time for James Bond glamour! The John Barry classic, made famous by Shirley Bassey, started as a whisper and rose in intensity.

A handy tip: raise your eyebrows when hitting the high notes to keep them bright. On the phrase “hurt me”, we swelled dramatically into “me”, adding drama worthy of 007 himself.

Ya Basta

Finally, we travelled to South America with Ya Basta! – a piece that combines the poetry of Antonio Machado with the powerful slogan meaning “enough is enough.”

It’s a song about freedom, choice, and courage, and it gave us a taste of singing in South American Spanish – a first for many of us!

What’s Next?

Four songs in one session was a real treat, and just the beginning. We’ll be exploring them more deeply in the weeks ahead, so don’t forget to check out Dropbox, listen, and familiarise yourself with the parts.

It’s going to be a term full of new music, new experiences, and – best of all – singing together again.

Great Expectations

Our last forensic rehearsal covered numerous songs. Next week we will go through the music in concert order, so if you haven’t already done so, please have your music in the correct order as per Eamonn’s email last week.

I think we all know what we need to do now, which we have been working on for some time:

We all need to show our true colours

Know your music well; learn the sections with no words, or those that are repeated

This will lead you to be able to look up and watch Eamonn for his direction

It is very important to finish words crisply and simultaneously. Many of our songs have words ending with an ‘s’. It helps to make them sound more like a ‘z’. However, if you are unsure, don’t sing it! It is better to have the odd voice or a few missing it than to have just one voice singing it at the wrong time! If we get this right, we will sound very professional.

Do not breathe in the middle of phrases. Only breathe in the places you have permission to breathe; these should be marked on your music scores by now.

High notes, smile and squeeze those oranges (especially Sops).  The top note on ‘love’ sing it as ‘lave’ and this should help.

Hold your folders at waist height and look up to see Eamonn. 

Don’t have your chin and head facing down; this closes the throat and restricts the sound.

Ask yourself:  Are you a pleasure to watch? Smile and enjoy yourself (or at least look as if you are enjoying it), and the audience will enjoy it all the more!

Stillness has not been mentioned yet, but I can assure you it will.  At the end of each song, please don’t turn the page, don’t fidget, scratch your nose, etc, until the last note on the piano is played and Eamonn turns to accept the applause from our adoring audience. Some songs end at the bottom of a page; it is wise to mark ‘End’ so you know there is nothing on the next page and you are not tempted to turn it over just in case!

Please arrive as close to 19:00 on Tuesday, and we will sort ourselves into concert formation, ready to start promptly.

Isaac, our pianist, will be joining us so Eamonn can give us his full attention as we will be giving him ours. He has great expectations that once both his hands are free and he does not have to divide his brain between playing and directing, we will perform and obey his instructions implicitly.

The choir is where your mistakes are amplified and your successes are shared.

Life without music would B♭

Get Used to It!

Well, what a rehearsal last night.

What a night!

The good news is that we know our notes overall, with just a little extra practice needed on the few we are unsure of. You know the ones I mean! We covered a lot of ground and are doing well.

The bad news is we are sounding somewhat amateurish because we are not getting clear, crisp endings to our phrases. This issue is present throughout all our songs. It’s so important, and it can’t be stressed enough.

It only takes one of us to get it wrong, and that person will be heard and spoil the whole effect.

Don’t be the one to let the team down!

The solution is quite simple: WATCH EAMONN. Just think Robert Di Niro

This has been said many times, and I understand you might be fed up hearing it. However, it’s not enough just to hear it; listen to it and GET USED TO IT!

If you’re not familiar with the songs — even though you should be by now with only a couple of weeks remaining — make sure you are. Knowing your words and looking up to see Eamonn’s cues are key.

If you hold your music slightly above your waist, you can keep your head up, which opens your throat. Use only your eyes to glance down at your music when needed, but lift your eyes to watch Eamonn at the critical moments, especially the endings.

We are now working quite meticulously on the songs to bring out the emotion and storytelling, ensuring they remain interesting and lively. Each song has its own character, and these need to be highlighted with our voices.

And So it Goes has both mini and maxi phrases. Make the mini phrases flow seamlessly into one big maxi phrase, connecting them smoothly. This simple song requires precision with the long and short notes, so watch Eamonn!

Cloudbusting should be bounced into ’every time I rains…’. And make the ‘Ooh’ sound like a ray of sunshine. Breathe quietly during the Oohs at the end so your breath remains silent.

Someone to Watch Over Me requires the Basses to sound more like little lambs than a herd of buffalo!

Matthew and Son should come in confidently on ‘and they’ve been working all day, all day…’

Timing is critical!

Down By the Riverside – the Tenors are singing the lower line when it splits. There is no gap in ‘War no more!’ Watch Eamonn!

Only You – timing is critical here. We are not singing in sync. The Sopranos are too fast, while Basses, Tenors, and Altos are too slow. We need to find the right rhythm and work together.

We are in a good place. If we all play our part (and sing it too) and get used to watching Eamonn, he will deliver a fantastic performance, creating a great sense of achievement and pride — not just for ourselves, but also to make Eamonn proud.

Lets hope, not. No names no pack drill!